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Tag Archives: Azure

Can I use CSP for Windows Server and not SPLA?

30 Jul

No.  How about that for a short answer?

We have been asked multiple times on this topic. It is not impossible, but not really viable either. Let me explain.

If you are CSP Direct authorized (or CSP Reseller), you could resell your end customer Windows and/or SQL Server subscriptions through CSP and host it in a dedicated infrastructure. I do not think it is really worth the time and effort just to host Windows and SQL. The cost in licensing is not that substantial from SPLA. If Microsoft allowed a service provider to host it on shared infrastructure than that would be a different story. You cannot purchase Windows through CSP and host it. Remember, Server Subscriptions for on premise deployments follow the Product Terms, which of course prohibits hosting.
If you are an ISV and want to host your application from your own datacenter, I would consider CSP Servers. Under the current Product Terms, Microsoft will allow Self-Hosted rights. I think this reduces your compliance risk since SPLA is tricky to license to begin with.

Isn’t licensing fun? We provide consulting services around these offerings. If you have questions, feel free to email us at info@splalicensing.com

Thanks for reading.

SPLA Man

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Posted by on July 30, 2020 in Cloud Solution Provider Program, Self Hosted, Uncategorized

 

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What are your top 5 reasons for continuing with SPLA over CSP

23 Jul

Let us know!  Email info@splalicensing.com We are conducting a study to understand the hosting world better.

Here’s my top 5

  1. Cost.  Yes I can buy a Windows Server Subscription through CSP and save consumption costs by deploying through Azure, but my datacenter costs are consistent and can offer a fixed price point to my customers.
  2. Confusing.  I thought SPLA was confusing, CSP is just a complex.  Want CSP Windows Server on prem?  You cannot host if you do!  Want CSP Incentives?  You are better off reading the SPUR, it’s an easier read!  Want the new CSP perpetual license?  That’s fine, but don’t plan on hosting or having your customer transfer that license into your datacenter.  No Software Assurance equals no License Mobility
  3. Dedicated Infrastructure.  With Listed Provider rules, I can offer dedicated hosts and compete with larger hosting companies.
  4. Local Support.  My customers want their data local and with someone they know.
  5. You can do both.  We can offer E3 plans or Windows 10 to my end users through CSP, but use SPLA for infrastructure solutions  for my financial customer or ISV solutions.

What do you think?  Bad list?  Good list?  Anything additional?

Stay tuned for reasons to do CSP over SPLA in my next post.  Here’s a hint…compliance.

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man.

 
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Posted by on July 23, 2020 in Cloud Solution Provider Program, Uncategorized

 

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Licensing Options to Meet the ESU (End Security Update) Deadline.

19 Nov

Holidays are right around the corner, chill in the air, and a looming end of security update for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 is right around the corner.  What is a MSP going to do?  Luckily for you, there’s SPLA Man, or MSP Man, or CSP Man (whatever acronym Microsoft calls me these days), any of which can provide you options.  In this article, we’ll review these options and how each one can fit into your business.

Windows Server 2008

If you are hosting software under SPLA, the good news is you already have access to the latest version as part of your agreement.   If you are not licensing SPLA and want to provide Windows Servers to your clients, you have a couple options:

  1. Under the Cloud Solution Provider Program (CSP) you can license Windows Servers through your indirect provider or through your own authorization.  This will allow you access to the latest version, pay annually for the subscription, and allow you to install the software on your customers datacenter or in Azure.  You will not be allowed to host Windows Server subscription licenses in CSP and host it from your datacenter.  Whenever you install CSP Server Subscriptions on premise, it follows the Product Terms (which prohibits hosting).  This also means you must buy CALs if installed on premise as well.  CALs are available through CSP or through the end customers volume licensing agreement.
  2.  You can have your end customers buy the new version of Windows Server licenses through their own volume licensing agreement.  Under this model, you (as a service provider) would need to isolate the hardware for that customer (dedicated hardware).  CALs would also be required.  You cannot have the end customer buy the licenses and host it in AWS or other “Listed Provider” as mentioned in the Product Terms.  Microsoft prohibits anything outside of license mobility to be installed on shared servers from a Listed Provider.
  3. You can have the end customer buy ESU through their own volume licensing agreement (I believe only the Enterprise Agreement qualifies).  This is a fairly expensive option.

Windows 7

Many organizations must upgrade their PCs and end devices running Windows 7 to a newer version.  Here are the 3 options available.

  1. Windows 10 through CSP.  You receive the latest version rights which will allow the end customer to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10.  Couple things to keep in mind: 1) Windows 7 Pro can upgrade to Windows 10 Pro included with the subscription.  2) Windows 7 Home can upgrade to Windows 10 Home (Home only).  CSP is a channel program that allows a service provider to buy licenses from an authorized CSP provider and resell it to their end users.  (Same process as SPLA in essence).
  2. Buy ESU.  Similar to servers, ESU is available through the Enterprise Agreement.  (Should be avaialble through CSP in December).  This is only a viable option if the end customer does not have plans to upgrade to a newer version.
  3. Buy Windows 10 through a Volume Licensing agreement.  There is a rental addendum through VL that allows an organization to rent PCs to end users.  More details can be found here

The good news is there are options.  The bad news is time is running out.  If you have any questions, please let us know info@splalicensing.com

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man

 

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2019 in DaaS, Uncategorized

 

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SQL Developer Edition: Be very…very…careful

22 Jan

Article update: We created a new website called MSCloudlicensing to help SPLA and CSP partners understand the different program options and use rights available to them. The site is designed to be a collaborative platform,  which includes a forum to ask and answer licensing questions, document library, and licensing articles.  It’s more in depth than a simple blog. Check it out, it’s free!  www.mscloudlicensing.com 

 

Here’s a brief rundown with SQL Developer edition and what to be aware of if you decide to deploy it.

  • It’s free – you can download it for zero costs
  • It’s a compliance nightmare – When you deploy MAP tool in an audit, the scan typically will reveal a SQL Enterprise installation not SQL Developer edition.  Most features of Developer are found in Enterprise which brings on more confusion.  If you are audited, you must prove this license is for non-production environments.  Which brings us to the next bullet point.
  • What is a non production environment?  Any time you host Microsoft software it is defined as “production.”  Whether or not you charge for this access is irrelevant.  (Microsoft doesn’t care if you make money off of it).  If you do internal development, that’s non production.  If you host a dev environment for the benefit of your customer, now that is software as a service and would be considered production.
  •  Microsoft made SQL Development free in 2016.  For those that need prior versions, you would need to access them through Visual Studio subscriptions.   Again, for non-production environments.  Otherwise, you can report Visual Studio through SPLA; per user, per month.
  • To play it safe, isolate the hardware for any customer’s that want to transfer their free version of SQL Dev to your datacenter environment.

One might ask if it’s free, what’s the penalty if I am found out of compliant?  If you were deploying SQL Dev for production use and Microsoft finds out, you would have to true up using SQL Enterprise.  In other words, if you installed SQL Dev in 2014, get audited in 2017, Microsoft could force you to true up SQL Enterprise dating back to when you first installed Developer edition.  That’s not a very cheap solution!

Is this confusing?  Yes.  You have to make a decision of whether or not this is production or non-production environment.  Do not install SQL Developer because it’s free.  It may cost you in the long run.

Thank you for reading,

SPLA Man

 
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Posted by on January 22, 2018 in SQL 2012, SQL 2014, SQL 2016, Testing and Development, Uncategorized

 

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Answers to Your Cloud Licensing Questions

07 Nov

Will Azure be part of the SPLA program?

I wouldn’t think so and wouldn’t know how they could incorporate the two.  Azure is Microsoft hosted and SPLA is partnered.   Microsoft will want to keep SPLA and Azure separate.

Is Azure Stack part of SPLA?

Azure Stack by itself is not part of SPLA.  What’s part of SPLA is the Windows licenses.  As a service provider, you could deploy Azure Stack, pay the base consumption rate, and use Windows licensing with SPLA.  In fact, I think it’s less expensive to do it this way.

If my customer wants to use their own Windows license on Azure Stack, do they also require CAL’s?

Yes.  You need to pay attention to the Product Terms to ensure compliance.  As an example, volume licensing prohibits hosting.  You cannot install your own Windows licenses through volume licensing and host using Azure Stack.

Does Office 365 qualify for the SAL for SA product in SPLA?

The only Office 365 product that is eligible for SAL for SA is Skype.

Is SPLA pricing going up?

Yes and will not be decreasing anytime soon.

Since AWS offers dedicated hardware, could I transfer my customer’s license to their datacenter without Software Assurance?

Yes.  If its dedicated hardware Software Assurance is not required.

What about Azure?

No, you would need Software Assurance.

Will Microsoft finally allow MSDN to be licensed in my datacenter?

Probably not.  Although if you use Azure, MSDN is eligible to be transferred.

If I sell CSP through 2-Tier distributor, can I sign the QMTH addendum?

No.  You must be CSP 1 – Tier to qualify for QMTH.

Can I outsource support for certain software through CSP?

Yes.  You an resell the solutions you can support and leverage another partner for support for other products.

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on November 7, 2017 in Top 5 Licensing Questions

 

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Top News in September

25 Sep

Here’s the latest news of the month for all MSP’s and SPLA providers.  Enjoy!

SQL 2017

This month is a month we will remember for the rest of our lives.  That’s right, today SQL 2017 is available to run on…a non-Microsoft system?

From the licensing guide: “SQL Server 2017 now supports deployment on RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Ubuntu, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES). The SQL Server 2017 SKUs are platform agnostic, so customers can run the software on either Windows or Linux.” (check it out here)

What this means for those anti-Microsoft lovers is a customer who demands SQL can now install SQL 2017 on a Linux machine and not report Windows.  The machine cannot run any Windows guest VM’s for it not to be reported.  Pay attention to that last sentence as we get asked a lot about licensing individual VM’s instead of the actual host.  In Windows licensing, you license the physical host, not the VM’s.  If there are 100 Linux VM’s and only 1 Windows VM, you must license the host with Windows Datacenter to be in compliant.

Azure Stack Availability

The long await is over – Azure Stack is now shipping through the OEM channel (Dell, Lenovo, HPE)  You can read more about this announce here  From a licensing perspective, I think it is less expensive to license Windows through SPLA than pay as you use model.  It’s more of a predictable cost in my opinion.  This is one way Microsoft is attempting to extend Azure (public cloud) into your private cloud and have the best of both worlds.

“Hit Refresh”

Satya Nadella “Hit Refresh” book is available at a time when we are all in a strange way, hitting refresh.  The cloud transformation is only getting more complex – hybrid, dedicated, Google, AWS, Azure, every company is transforming to try and get the slightest edge over their competitors.  I look forward to reading it and every dollar goes to Microsoft charities.  Regardless of what you think of Microsoft, Satya seems like one of the good guys.  You can check out more about the book here

More to come –

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man

 

 

 

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2017 in In My Opinion, Uncategorized

 

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Predicting the future of SPLA

14 Sep

The one thing consistent with Microsoft is change.  Attempting to predict what will happen tomorrow is just as difficult as predicting what will happen two years from now. That being said, Microsoft is giving hints as to what the landscape of SPLA and CSP will look like in the not so distance future.   Without further delay, here’s my predictions:

  • Microsoft will increase SPLA pricing at some point.  It’s inevitable.  See point number 2.
  • There will be a big push to move SPLA providers to CSP and it’s happening now.   CSP pricing is not going up any time soon.
  • CSP membership will be part of the requirement to join SPLA.  Going out on a limb here, but if the goal is to move SPLA to CSP, I think this would be a good way to do it.
  • CSP requirements will be more streamlined and easier to obtain.  See point number 2.
  • SPLA compliance will increase.  See point number 2.
  • SPLA Resellers will put more focus on CSP than SPLA.  See point number 2.

Good news?  I think it’s time for SPLAlicensing.com to get a facelift.  It’s been several years using the same format.  What features would you like to see?  What topics interest you?  What do you think will happen in SPLA?  Email info@splalicensing.com and would love any suggestions.

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man

 

 

 
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Posted by on September 14, 2017 in In My Opinion

 

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Top 5 Licensing questions…Answered

11 Sep
  1. If a customer has 4 x SQL Server Standard (8 cores), does that mean I will also need to have 4 x SQL-SAL?

There’s no server + CAL model in SPLA.  You license either per core or per user depending on the product.  Remember, SAL is not licensed per server, but for each user that has access to that server.  Your question indicates you might believe a SAL is licensed per server which is not true.

2.  Is MSDN available through SPLA?  Is it through Azure?

MSDN is not available in SPLA, but you can license the individual components through SPLA.   If an end-user would like to bring their MSDN license over to your datacenter, you must dedicate the solution for your customer.  Yes, Amazon must play by the same rules.  Oddly enough, Azure (which is shared) does allow MSDN to be transferred over to their datacenter.

3. I received an audit notification.  Should I respond?

Yes. But don’t work on their time, work on yours.

4.  If I signed the SCA addendum, do I need to sign the new QMTH addendum?

Unless you are planning on hosting Windows 10 you do not need to sign the new addendum.

5.  If I buy from a CSP indirect partner, do I qualify for QMTH?

No.  Your company must be CSP 1 tier authorized in order to qualify.

Thanks  for reading,

SPLA Man

 
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Posted by on September 11, 2017 in Top 5 Licensing Questions

 

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Top 5 CSP Questions…Answered

24 Aug

Here are a few hot topics this week around CSP.  Enjoy!

What would happen if I sell myself Office Pro Plus through my own CSP authorization?  Can I do that?

No.  You cannot sell yourself Office 365 Pro Plus licenses.  You can purchase it through any volume licensing program or through another CSP provider.  Might be a good way to check out the competition support processes though!

If you are CSP authorized in Australia, but have customers in UK, can you resell Office 365 through CSP?

No. You can only resell in the region in which you are authorized. 

If my end customer purchased Office 365 Pro Plus through Volume Licensing, can I host it from my datacenter if I am QMTH authorized?

Yes. The end customer can purchase from any licensing program as long as it is Office 365 Pro Plus version.  As the service provider, you must be QMTH authorized.

 

If I purchase CSP licenses indirectly from my distributor, do I qualify for QMTH?

No.  You must CSP Direct authorized in order to that.  You cannot purchase from a distributor and offer VDI or Office Pro Plus.

If I sell Azure through CSP, how do I know which region my data is located?

With Azure, you get to pick the region.

If I sell Office 365 through CSP, which region is my service hosted from?

The address on the invoice determines the location of the services. 

***Watch out for the new Microsoft Cloud Agreement (MCA) coming in September.  You can download the old version here

Thanks for reading,

SPLA Man

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2017 in Cloud Solution Provider Program

 

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